“I don't want you and him making all the decisions.” So snapped a church leader at me about the trustee chair, after our trustees adopted a security measure in the wake...

“What shall I do with this people?” Most of us have said that. Is there anyone who hasn’t at least thought it? Pastors, congregations, parents, children, leaders, and followers: What shall...

“You’re not the boss of me!” Most of us have said or been told this expression of desired autonomy. Part of maturing personally and spiritually is self-differentiation. If we are not...

“Who’s in charge?” Explicitly or implicitly, it’s a question asked in households, businesses, government, and churches. As ministry moves into the heart of fall program activity and nominating committees prepare their...

Jesus never calls the landowner “God” and neither should we. Like every parable, this one does its best work when it’s not locked down ahead of time, no matter how many...

Today’s parable is so familiar to church-going Christians that it seldom receives a fresh hearing. Once you know the punchline, the story is just the vehicle for getting there. But if...

Philippi was a Roman military colony, which helps explain the military language here. Paul worked hard to use the language of the people to whom he wrote. If more Christians could...

Paul is in prison. He does not say where, but the church in Philippi has been good to him. A member of the congregation named Epaphroditus has come with gifts and...

This psalm praises God for giving the land of other nations to Israel, lending fuel to the long-burning fire between Israel and Palestine—but that gift is just one in a long...

No one has parsed Exodus more carefully than the Jews whose story it tells. Rabbinical literature is full of best guesses about the meaning of each detail. Cherished legends fill the...